It is known in the art to store unvulcanized tire treads in storage devices commonly known as “bear traps” which have a series of planar elements upon which the treads are stored. Previously, treads removed from such storage devices were removed manually by a human tire builder.
Depending on the size of the tire tread, the task of removing the tread from the storage device could be one of the most distasteful and uncomfortable in the entire tire building process. For example, for truck tires and for aircraft tires, the associated treads in their unvulcanized state can approach one hundred pounds in weight and can be up to twelve feet long. In addition, the treads are “booked” or stored upside down so that a sticky, tacky layer of rubber is upward. Manually manipulation of the tire treads is physically taxing for the tire builder. In addition, certain non-uniformities and undesirable qualities could be imparted to the tire tread, and eventually to the tire, through manual handling of the unvulcanized tread.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved method and apparatus for removing unvulcanized tire treads from the storage devices. The method and apparatus is simple in design, effective in use, and overcomes the foregoing difficulties in others while providing better and advantageous overall results.